Overton Homers as EKU Baseball Falls at Missouri

Brenden Overton hit his third home run of the season, but it was not enough as the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team dropped its mid-week game to the University of Missouri Tigers, 13-4, on Tuesday evening at Taylor Stadium.

The Colonels (24-28, 10-17 OVC) started the game with singles from Cornell Nixon and Shea Sullivan. Ben Fisher singled through the right side to bring Nixon home and give EKU a 1-0 lead.

Missouri (31-21, 11-16 SEC) responded with a six-run bottom frame to take a 6-1 lead into the second.

The Tigers tacked on four more runs in the second to take a 10-1 lead into third.

Eastern started the fifth in a 13-1 hole after Missouri scored a run in the bottom of the third and two runs in the fourth. Daniel McFarland started the fifth by drawing a walk, and Nixon reached on a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat when McFarland was forced out at second. Sullivan took a base on balls, and Fisher singled to right center to load the bases. Alex Holderbach was hit by a pitch, which plated Nixon. Now at third, Sullivan scored on a wild pitch, and EKU finished the fifth trailing the Tigers 13-3.

In the sixth inning Overton launched a ball over the wall in left field, cutting the Missouri lead down to single digits, 13-4. That, however, is as close as Eastern would get as the Colonels fell, 13-4.

Fisher and Howie finished with two hits each, while Fisher and Overton each had one RBI. Nixon scored two runs and stole a base.

The Colonels now make the 227 mile trek to the southeast for an OVC series at Southeast Missouri. The series opener is set for a 7 p.m. start on Thursday.